FULL STEAM AHEAD: Fall River ship had a whale of a tale

Saturday

Nov 30, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 30, 2013 at 12:39 PM

Last month, the topic of this column was the merchant marine and the numerous categories of merchant ships. One category that played a major part in area history is whaling ships. Although New Bedford normally comes to mind when the subject of whaling comes up, an event occurred with a Fall River whaler that I would have thought fictional had I not read about it in court documents. The Holder Borden was a whaling ship named after a prominent Fall River manufacturer. In November of 1842, she departed Fall River for the South Seas and Pacific Ocean to hunt whales. After successful hunts, the Holder Borden experienced a disastrous ending. The story of her crew and their survival is an extraordinary event not only in whaling, but in nautical history.

Phil Hudner

Last month, the topic of this column was the merchant marine and the numerous categories of merchant ships. One category that played a major part in area history is whaling ships. Although New Bedford normally comes to mind when the subject of whaling comes up, an event occurred with a Fall River whaler that I would have thought fictional had I not read about it in court documents. The Holder Borden was a whaling ship named after a prominent Fall River manufacturer. In November of 1842, she departed Fall River for the South Seas and Pacific Ocean to hunt whales. After successful hunts, the Holder Borden experienced a disastrous ending. The story of her crew and their survival is an extraordinary event not only in whaling, but in nautical history.

The Holder Borden struck a coral reef near an island that did not appear on the charts. There was significant damage, and the ship’s officers ordered the boats to be loaded with bread and drinking water. Land was seen approximately four miles away and the captain was taken to the island for a closer look. It was a low sand island, rising but a few feet from the water, about three miles in circumference, without a tree or shrub, and surrounded by shoals, rocks, and coral reefs, extending on one side for about 25 miles.

Upon returning to the ship, the captain ordered the crew to remove the chronometer, charts, and other navigational instruments, along with bedding to be placed in the boats. While the ship remained on an even keel, the crew worked feverishly removing everything possible from between decks in anticipation of the ship falling on its side.

During this time, the captain was considering building another vessel from remnants of the Holder Borden as the only means of escape and survival. The crew was able to place on the deck approximately a thousand feet of pitch-pine plank. With the approach of sunset, the crew went to the island to spend the night.

The next morning, a mate and seaman were assigned to search for water. Eventually, they found potable water by digging near the center of the island. When the rest of the crew returned to the ship they found her resting on a shelving rock with only about 3 feet of her port side above water. To their dismay, the ship had rolled over, throwing what was on the deck into the water. They were able to retrieve four light spars, two coils of rigging, and two sails.

Because they had saved only a few provisions, they had to retrieve the remaining provisions on the ship even though deep under water. For three days they attempted to raise the casks with a hoist and hooks, but the casks wouldn’t budge. It was then decided to cut a hole through both decks to the lower deck. The only tool they has was a whaling spade. Crew members rotated in cutting the hole which, after thirty six hours, was finally large enough to remove a cask. Five days later, they were able to remove three barrels of bread, thirty barrels of salted provisions, and two hundred casks of oil.

The crew cut more holes in the decks and was able to retrieve more provisions and an additional 600 barrels of oil. A total of 1,400 barrels of oil had been retrieved from the ship. In good weather, six to 12 barrels of oil could be floated to the island. Planks reaching 100 feet were placed on the soft sand, enabling the crew to roll the barrels of oil and provisions on to the island and stack them.

Six days after the Holder Borden hit the reef, the captain assigned a carpenter and three crewmen to construct a schooner from remains of the wreckage. Without tools, they improvised wherever they could. They made two saws from iron hoops, enabling them to saw larger timbers. By splitting these planks and with the ship’s spars, they were able to construct flooring. They took the ship’s try-pot, a metal pot used on whalers, and were able to steam the planks for the new vessel. They had managed to save the ship’s bellows and half a cask of sea coal, which they used for blacksmithing. They created several coal pits, and using wood from the wreck, created a forge for making axes and other tools.

After constructing the new vessel over several months, they made oakum and caulked the schooner inside and out. They made sails from the ship’s canvas. Finally, the vessel was completed, and was named The Hope. They began the launching one early morning, hampered by the soft sand, finishing by late afternoon. After loading provisions and water, the crew set sail, having been stranded on this island for five months. Eleven men remained to look after the oil, with assurances by the captain that he would return. Twenty three days later they reached Oahu, Hawaii.

The captain purchased the brig Delaware for the return to the island with the eleven men and oil. The brig was paid for by Nathan Durfee, one of the owners of the Holder Borden. After rescuing the eleven men and retrieving the remaining oil, the captain returned to Oahu only to learn The Hope was unsuitable for sailing, leaking because there was little oakum remaining in the seams.

The Delaware was repaired and refitted before sailing home. She arrived in Fall River on July 8, 1845, carrying oil and remnants of the Holder Borden. A suit was filed in Admiralty Court to determine final ownership of the Holder Borden and compensation for what was saved.
Through ingenuity and perseverance, the captain and his crew were all able to return home safely. The story reminds me of a saying we had when I was in the Marines: “The difficult we do immediately. The impossible may take longer.”

The Marine Museum will be hosting a whaling event on March 9. Save the date.

For more information, call 508-674-3533 or visit the museum at 70 Water St., Fall River. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Phil Hudner retired from Bank of America and lives in Westport, where he was a member of the Planning Board. He currently serves as a trustee of the Marine Museum.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.